5 Tasting Notes

Assuming that this Golden Monkey is the higher grade variety that Silk Road offers, this tea is really quite a find. Most gold-bud black teas will have about 20% gold buds; however, this tea is closer to 50/50 on the tea leaves to tea buds front.
I was initially brewing this at 200-boiling, however after accidentally brewing it at 180F I realized the true potential of this tea. The lower brewing temperature allows for more of the soft maltiness of the roasted teabuds to shine through, while not allowing the black tea leaves to oversteep and exude their bittering astringency. As a teadrinker who tends to stray away from black teas, this Golden Monkey is one of a kind in the class of gold-bud teas.

This is a very high quality bouquet-style Dancong oolong. Some times I will brew this tea perfectly and it gives me the chills. The second infusion is always a little better balanced than the first, but the fourth infusion is the prime of this tea.

The infusion yields an amber and gold liquor, the aroma is woodsy and nutty and the taste is creamy like honey and butter, yet also pleasantly minerally with an allusion to tasteful astringencies.

I would highly recommend this bouquet style dancong oolong

Flavors: Butter, Honey, Mineral, Orchids, Raisins, Wood

Preparation

A very standard jasmine pearl green tea, not an overpoweringly synthetic aroma, but floral and subtly, though very quick to bitter if over-steeped. The pearls will begin to unfurl after the first steep, and be fully unfurled by the second. Once unfurled one will see the relatively whole leaves and tea bud unfurl with no visible jasmine flowers. The fact that there are no jasmine flowers in this jasmine tea is a good thing, as that means the grower properly infused the scent into the tea by drying them together, rather than adding it to the tea later.

Preparation

Even after the third or fourth steeping, this tea is still rich and creamy with buttery notes of roasted nuts, a nice amber paling slightly with each brew, the roast reminds me of huojicha but this oolong is much soother than that green tea.

The leaves i received in my container were rolled lengthwise and for the most part whole and unbroken, though they did not fully unfurl until my third or fourth steeping. Very Good quality if you are looking for a medium to high oxidized, dark roasted oolong.

Flavors: Caramel, Honey, Mineral

Preparation

Honestly I tend to prefer loose leaf tea; however, this tea is my favorite variety of bagged green tea. I can steep this tea for ever and it never gets bitter, simply amazing. With the addition of the matcha, and in consuming the whole leaf of that green tea variety, it leads to much greater yield of the L-Theanine amino acid, that is so coveted by tea-drinkers for its profoundly calming and yet focused influence over the mind. By the time there is just a single sip left in the mug, it is mostly some slightly sweet matcha and after it is drained, the ensuing mental clarity will follow you around for hours.